Adina Jick, Class of 2006

"Rashi was my home. When I started high school, I realized that at Rashi my classmates and I all shared similar values."

Rashi was my second home growing up. I began going to Rashi daily to pick up my sister when she started in first grade. Three short years later, I began Kindergarten at Rashi. I was a "lifer" at Rashi - staying until 8th Grade. When I started high school at a secular school, I realized how special it was at Rashi that my classmates and I all shared similar values.

In second grade, we learned about tzedakah heroes and how it is not an option to stand by when we see injustice. Rashi instilled in me that it is everyone's responsibility to work to make the world a better place and I have followed this practice throughout my life. In high school, I received a Presidential Service Award for completing 500+ hours of community service in a year. I have tutored students in reading and writing in Boston, New York, and San Francisco, taught seniors to use computers, cleaned beaches in Israel, and volunteered at Rosie's Place.

Because of my Jewish education at Rashi, I was more committed and involved in Jewish life at Beaver, where I ultimately became president of the Jewish Cultural Club. Rashi students have a really good sense of Judaism. They are not told how to be Jewish, but rather how to make their own meaning of our tradition. Rashi's core values provide a really wonderful base for being a great human being. What you do with that base is up to you.

When it was time to consider colleges, I made a chart of schools and looked at which ones offered Jewish studies and Hebrew classes. I knew that attending a school with a thriving Jewish life on campus was the most important factor for me. I couldn't be at a school that didn't embrace the values that we learned at Rashi and that were embraced by all members of the Rashi community. I graduated in 2014 from Barnard with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Psychology. While at Barnard, I held a yearlong internship at Columbia/Barnards Hillel as a Peer Networking Enagement Intern. While in this role, I worked to create Jewish learning opportunities around campus as well as serving as a resource and social connector for 60+ Jewish students. I now work as a Research Assistant in the psychiatry department of Weill Cornell Medical College. My team does research on and provides therapeutic services for people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

After graduating from Rashi over 10 years ago, I still remain close with many of my classmates and teachers. The people I met at Rashi have served as pillars and role models throughout my life. I can't say enough good things about Rashi. I'm my own Rashi fan club!